Tools / PDF to Excel
PDF to Excel
Get a PDF's tables into a spreadsheet, where they are tables.
- Your file is uploaded to do this
- Deleted 24 hours after processing
- What we do with it
Choose a PDF
or drop them here
How it works
- Add a PDF.
- Convert it. The file is sent to our servers and read there.
- Download the result.
Getting tables out as tables
A table in a PDF is lines and positioned text that looks like a table. Recovering the grid is guesswork, and it is far better at some tables than others.
Ruled tables convert best
Visible borders give the reconstruction something definite to follow. A table held together by spacing alone is much harder.
Check merged cells and totals first
Merged headers and a totals row are where the grid most often comes back wrong.
Watch numbers that arrive as text
A column that will not sum has usually landed as text, often because of a currency symbol or a thousands separator.
Do one statement before you do twelve
If the layout is consistent, what works on one month works on the rest.
Where this is the wrong tool. This uploads. The file is sent over an encrypted connection, read on our servers and deleted after 24 hours. Always check the totals against the PDF before using the figures for anything that matters.
When the browser is not enough
Scanly for Android
Take document-scanning workflows to your Android phone with Scanly. See the Google Play listing for current features, requirements and data-processing information.
Questions
How well does it find tables?
It does best on tables with ruled lines and consistent columns. A financial statement usually comes through; a table that was only ever aligned text will arrive as text in cells, which still beats retyping it.
The columns are in the wrong place.
That is the honest limit of converting out of a PDF: the file records where each number was printed, not which column it belonged to. Widen the sheet and check the totals against the original before using it.
Is my file uploaded?
Yes, and it is deleted afterwards. Most tools here are not; this one has to be.
Can I convert a scan?
Not usefully. Read it with Image to Text first.